Wings Are More Than We Thought They Could Be (Old version)

Chapter Three

Yugo woke up slowly. His brain was muddled, his head felt like there was a gigantic drum pounding away inside of it, and his eyes hurt. He tried to open his eyes. They opened easily enough, but all that he saw were the wakfu currents running through things. He had finally reached stage four. Blindness. But at least he could still see wakfu. He hadn't known that he'd still be able to see wakfu. He'd assumed that he'd be completely blind. At least he could still see, for now at least.

Yugo sat up. Adamaï and Az were at his side in less than a second. Az was chirping frantically, while Adamaï seemed to be close to doing the same, despite being in dragon form. "Guys, settle down. I'm fine." It was meant to be reassuring, but Adamaï just started to panic more. Yugo sighed. Reaching forwards, he pulled his dragon brother into a tight hug. "I'm fine, Ad." He whispered to the distressed dragon. 

Slowly, Adamaï relaxed. Yugo slowly pulled back, studying his brother's face through wakfu. He tried to memorize as much as possible, just in case he loses his ability to see wakfu as well as the ability to see. If nothing else, he wanted to remember his brother's face. 

"I'm fine, Ad." He repeated. "I simply reached the next stage in this disease." Adamaï opened his mouth, looked at Yugo, and shut it again. "...I don't even want to know..." He muttered. Yugo smiled. "Good choice, Ad. I'm still pretty confused about it myself, you know." He pulled the dragon back in for another hug. This time, neither of them let go.

He really was. He wasn't sure how Qilby could make portals, or how Nox was still alive, or why they were helping him. It could be guilt, but he didn't think so. So why? Last time he'd checked, they'd both hated Yugo. They might just be trying to give him a comfortable death, but he'd died many many times before from much worse things than this, although he could only recall a few in any detail more than general shapes and impressions, and they'd never helped him before. So why now? Was it because he was a child? No, because he'd died as a child before. Something about being eaten by a giant flying monkey and they hadn't managed to get to him in time. He'd lasted for a few days after they'd found him before finally dying, his body horrendously disfigured by the monkey's teeth and stomach acid.

Yugo was having trouble feeling. It was becoming a struggle to stay bright and happy. His worry, his joy, his excitement, his determination, it was all fading away. He knew that he should feel these things, but it was so hard. 

"It's because your wings are amplifiers. That also means that they amplify emotions. When an Eliatrope damages their wings, they begin to lose some of their ability to feel. It usually starts with their emotions. Then pain, usually. So if you stop feeling pain, it's because your wings are damaged." Qilby said in Yugo's mind, somehow knowing the perfect time to show up. Yugo looked down at Adamaï sadly. "He doesn't know, does he," Qilby stated sadly. Yugo shook his head. "No. I've never shown anybody but you my wings."  Qilby's voice felt sad. "You don't have much more time, you know. It's a matter of months now. At the end... you'll be happy to go. Being inside the Dofus is actually quite soothing and relaxing. It actually doesn't erase your memory. That's the birth that does that. It's actually a lot like sleeping, and you dream of those that you were closest to, particularly your sibling." 

"And best of all, it doesn't hurt inside the Dofus. It's a time to relax and heal, a time of rebirth. And once your sibling joins you, it's the most wonderful sensation in the world. If I could, I would spend all my time there with my sister."  Qilby continued. 

Yugo hugged Adamaï tighter."I don't want to leave him. Isn't there a cure?"  He asked desperately. Qilby's silence was an answer all on its own. Yugo looked down at his brother. 

"Believe me, Yugo, if there was a cure then I'd give it to you. But the most that we could ever do was ease their suffering. Even I, who kept all of my memories, do not know what the cure is." Qilby said sadly. "Nox is here too. He says that he owes you a favor. He appears to have grown attached. That's both good and bad. Good, because Nox protects what is his to the end, but bad, because Nox tends to go overboard. Like, suck-all-the-wakfu-out-of-the-world overboard. He's one protective daddy."